Friday, May 31, 2013

This is a small sample of what was happening in Oklahoma City today as the area took another direct hit from Mother Nature and her busy-bodyness... the captain of the AHL Oklahoma City Barons was taking pictures of the water coming from above in all of the rains and tornados that are hitting the town for the second time in a week-and-a-half...

The Cox Convention Center is the only place in Oklahoma City that has an ice surface. Any game in the area can't be played at Chesapeake Energy Center, the home of the Thunder, because it wasn't built to have an ice surface at all.

No word on when the series between the Barons and the Grand Rapids Griffins will resume.
Here's clean-up video from inside Cox...
((HT: OilersTV))

Blaylock, who went to college at Oklahoma, played 13-years in the NBA for New Jersey, the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors, making the all-star game once. He was considered one of the best point-guards of his era. His name was often material for comics and many others.

PM UPDATE:According to the AJC's Alexis Stevens, the early parts of the investigation are yielding that Blaylock went over the center line. A passenger in the second vehicle has died from injuries. Blaylock himself has been taken off life support, but he is listed as "guarded, but critical."

Here's early coverage from WSB-TV...

SUNDAY UPDATE: Blaylock is set to be charged with failure to maintain lane and driving on a suspended license according to Jonesboro (GA) Police Chief Franklin Allen

Well, maybe if you are an Atlanta Braves fan you expected this video. You had to. We aren't real sure about the rest of Major League Baseball.

Either way, for those not familiar, Evan Gattis, backup catcher and hitter who came out of nowhere (literally) for the Atlanta Braves is quickly gaining legend status.

From tomohawking a 97-mph Stephen Strasburg fastball at eye level, over the fence to pinch-hit game winning hits, Gattis's story is nothing short of miraculous.

Out of baseball just 3-years ago, gave up the game while in college. He got picked on a flyer late by the Braves and rocketed through their Minor League system, hitting the ball like nothing anyone's ever seen.

He gained the name "El Oso Blanco", The White Bear, while racking up extraordinary hitting numbers in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Now he has his own song. As performed by OSG Fave "Ricky Mast" with help via Photoshop:

Oscar Pistorius has been charged in the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, from last February. He has been living with an uncle since and is awaiting a court hearing Tuesday to determine the next step in the legal process in his native South Africa.

CNN's Robyn Curnow sits down with the Pistorius family before the hearing to get their side of things...
((HT: CNN.com))

Understandably, it makes perfect sense for the Pistorius family and their defense team to get their side of events out before the hearing. If they can be heard, as many times over as possible, they can prejudice the jury pool, public opinion that may be wavering, and any other element of the legal system to possibly sway influence in either verdict or sentencing.

The evidence itself seems too overwhelming to convict, but the HQ has seen it collapse under its own weight sometimes in high profile cases- and this would be another of those opportunities...

For those of you keeping track, he is now hitting a robust .248 after his 9 RBI performance. The RBI are tied for the most in a Southern League game since Butch Garcia in 1989...

Here's Marisnick's handiwork...
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The Marlins' number two-rated prospect entered the game in a 2-for-26 slump, but he might be turning it around.

"Just little things I've been working on with Kevin Randel, the hitting coach," he said. "Just kind of got up there and let it happen. Sometimes I've been overswinging and that gets me into a bad situation."

Josh Ravin, the pitcher who gave up both slams, went the sum total of an inning-and-a-third, giving up six earned runs, and his ERA is now 7.15... Don't you worry none... it's not the highest ERA on the team at present...

Here's Marisnick's post-game interview, presumably in the bowels of the stadium in Pensacola
((HT: Jacksonville Suns their own selves))

And, now, the HQ knows where part of former UCLA one-and-done Shabazz Muhammad's rookie contract will go- defending his father against mail and wire fraud charges brought against him in Las Vegas.

Ken Bensinger's piece refers us to a Las Vegas Review-Journal piece where Muhammad's father, former UCLA star Ronald Holmes, and others used fraudulent information and so-called "straw buyers" to get home mortgages and buy and sell houses, keeping any kind of funds that were either distributed before or profit from the transaction- if a house was ever bought or sold.

The activities took place in a three-year period- 2006 to 2009. The complaintants are looking to recover more than $2.5 million.
And, apparently, this is not the first time Holmes has been accused in activity like this...

From Bensinger:

In 2000, he was sentenced to six months house arrest for fraud involving multiple mortgages in Los Angeles County that were obtained in the early 1990s using false information.

The details of that case bear remarkable similarities to the current charges. According to U.S. Atty. Daniel G. Bogden's complaint, Holmes lived in two houses obtained with fraudulent mortgage applications, and seldom made mortgage payments.

He also allegedly conspired to have straw buyers file bankruptcy petitions to delay foreclosure of homes he was occupying.

The lenders that underwrote the mortgages include Citibank, JP Morgan Chase and Centralbanc Mortgage Corp., the indictment says.

The LVRJ piece by Colton Lochhead says the plea agreement with Holmes was to pay restitution of $78,000...

Here's one of those alleged all-access pieces on Shabazz from a year ago...
((HT: courtcred.com))

It will be interesting to see which NBA team takes a flier on Muhammad- considering his apparent moodiness, self-centered behavior on the floor, and the falsifying of information involving his actual age when he enrolled in UCLA and participated in AAU ball.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

It's time for Level Two of Galactic Realignment to rear its ugly head...

After the loss of the College of Charleston to the Colonial and Davidson to the Atlantic 10, SoCon commissioner John Iamarino is not sitting idly by to figure out what to do.

He's bringing in Mercer, East Tennessee State, and VMI starting on July 1, 2014. ETSU and Mercer are leaving the Atlantic Sun Conference who has already lost Belmont. VMI is in the Big South Conference and will be SoCon full-time now in all sports. VMI is expected to formally ratify joining the league Friday when its Board of Visitors meets.

Mercer is in the Pioneer League in their first year of football, so in essence they get a mulligan year to figure things out before the SoCon and ETSU will be hitting the ground running with Phillip Fulmer as their fearless leader in 2016.

"The past several years have been a tumultuous time in intercollegiate athletics. Conference realignment has affected traditional rivalries and disrupted the geographic integrity of conferences across the country. Mercer's affiliation with the Southern Conference will, however, restore historic rivalries and reduce travel burdens on our student-athletes," Mercer President William D. Underwood said in one of those prepared statements. "We look forward to continued competition with our colleagues in the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2013-14. We have enjoyed close relationships with a number of outstanding academic institutions within the A-Sun that we anticipate will continue beyond our change in conference affiliation."

"We're honored to have Mercer become a member of the Southern Conference," said Southern Conference Commissioner John Iamarino "The combination of outstanding facilities, successful athletic programs and undeniable academic excellence makes Mercer a great fit for us. We're delighted they've accepted our invitation."

Here was Mercer's first-ever spring scrimmage as they get ready for season one...
((HT: 13WMAZ-TV))

The Kansas City Royals are officially a desperate team.After Wednesday night’s 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals the Royals have lost eight straight games and have won only 4 of their last 23 games.

Right now K-C stinks.

Manager Ned Yost still is employed but his coaching staff was shook up.Hitting coaches Jack Maloof and Andre David have been reassigned to the Minor Leagues.The Royals announced that Pedro Grifol is joining Kansas City's coaching staff as a special assignment coach but that’s not the big news.

George Brett

George Brett will wear the #5 again in the Royals dugout as interim hitting coach.

"Obviously things have not gone as we would have expected, and in light of the downturn in offensive production and poor results, we've decided to make a change," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said in a statement.

The weak hitting Royals rank eighth in the American League in hitting 10th in on-base percentage but the biggest problem has been a prolonged power outage.

Kansas City rank near the bottom (13th) of the AL in runs and at the bottom in home runs with only 28.

The Royals suits felt it was time to bring in Brett, the Royals’ all-time hit leader (3,154) to see if the Royals legend can apply the paddles to KC’s flat – lined offense.

Then there is the fate of Yost.If shaking up his coaching staff doesn’t work one might think Yost will be next to go.

“I’ve been there before,” Yost said.

Remember Yost was fired by the Milwaukee Brewers right before the end of the 2008 season with the team heading to the playoffs.

“I know the fans are definitely frustrated, but we are, too.” Yost said. “I think we’re all in this together in respect to the frustration level.”

What would ease that frustration other than a win streak?Perhaps seeing Brett in the dugout managing the Royals.

Geez E. Gordon Gee. Do you have a death wish? You do realize that a majority of what you say at an official school function or meeting more than likely is on the record?

Based on a report released today by the Associated Press, Gee obviously doesn't.

Why?

Because according to the report, at a December OSU Athletics Council meeting, Gee made jabs at Notre Dame, Catholic Priests, The SEC and The University of Louisville.

Gee apparently said Notre Dame wasn't invited to join the Big 10 because "those damn Catholics can't be trusted". He also dropped such classic lines about schools like Louisville who he doesn't consider in the same academic ballpark saying; "So you won't see us adding Louisville" and questioning the academic integrity of pretty much anyone in the SEC adding; "You tell the SEC when they can learn to read and write, then they can figure out what we're doing".

Why would you say stuff like this in a somewhat public forum? Whether you think it or not is pretty irrelevant. You can't say it. Unless you are alone in your office with a friend you know won't repeat it. Or dictate it for public record.

Did Dr. Gee not learn from his "Little Sisters of the Poor" comment a couple of years ago? For those unaware--Gee made the reference in response to criticism his Buckeyes played a better schedule than other teams.

Allegedly he is getting a "remediation" plan (whatever that means) because of the remarks. We, and pretty much anyone else would argue the remarks are a pattern rather than an isolated behavior. Sure, Ohio State is considered an "Elite" BCS team. But they've hardly the track record to be talking smack about the SEC, Louisville or in any instance making Catholic Priest jokes.

We will add that the "AAC" website is supposed to launch July 1st. Don't believe us? Your link is RIGHT HERE

So they have changed, but they haven't changed. Follow?

Good luck fans of Connecticut, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Navy, SMU, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF and USF. You are the pioneers (not the Pioneer League). You are the trailblazers forging a new identity.

Get used to it AAC fans. Our guess and most other peoples guesses are that Galactic Realignment is going to slow down. A lot.

You'll be playing each other. For a long, long time. Unless of course you add some teams from Conference USA (the original)....

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Brent Seabrook's goal 3-plus minutes into overtime sends the Chicago Blackhawks into the Western Conference finals to play the 5th seed Los Angeles Kings.

It was the first Game 7 overtime in 806 career match-ups and it almost didn't get there but for the intervention of Steven Walkom late in the third period. Everyone thought the Niklas Hjalmarsson goal was that...

But it wasn't one... even if it was...

Game 1 is Saturday night... Seabrook's goal goes off the stick of Niklas Kronwall before handcuffing Jimmy Howard...

So now, officially, taking issue with the Freeh Report the Paternos, trustees, and former players are taking on the NCAA in court. The university itself is not a party in the suit since they agreed to the sanctions set forth by the NCAA which included a four-year bowl ban, wiping 111 wins off the books from Joe Paterno's record, a $60-million fine, and a serious amount of scholarship cuts.

Here's the excerpt from the show involving Bob Costas and Paterno family attorney, Wick Sollers...

The NCAA hasn't received any information involving the Paterno interest and was not in a position to comment on the lawsuit itself. And neither is Penn State: "Despite our request, the Paterno family has not shared any information about its planned legal action," chief legal officer Donald Remy said in a statement. "We remain committed to working with Penn State toward the continued successful completion of our voluntary agreement with the university and to working" with the NCAA's independent monitor, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell.
The issue the HQ has with the Paternos and all involved in the lawsuit- the university signed off on the whole thing.
Give it up, pack it in, and otherwise stop...

The decisions made by those in power reflected an inherent desire to hide the facts and hide the hideous acts of a warped individual who is, thankfully, serving the remainder of his days in jail.

You don't see the Sandusky family chasing this rainbow...
All this reflects is the amount of hubris and ego that the Paternos have in a vain attempt at revisionist history...

An ambitious Los Angeles Kings fan, Eric Locko who is apparently pretty good with video decided he was going to document his experience/day at Game 7 of the Kings/San Jose Sharks Stanley Cup West Semi-final series.

So Locko attached a GoPro Camera to himself.

Yes, the video he produced here is edited a bit, but that's okay. It's a unique and highly creative way to express his fanship and many props to him for coming up with the idea.

Following in true James Dolan fashion, the New York Rangers have fired head coach John Tortorella after a lackluster playoff performance that led in their early dismissal from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the semi-final round.

Tortorella served five season behind the bench in Madison Square Garden and was out in five games against the Boston Bruins.

"Some of the responsibility falls on me,” he said in his last press conference as coach. “One of the big things of this series, I could not — it does, it falls on me — it’s a big part of my job is to get your top players to play consistently, and I couldn’t do that.

“We tried, so I need to take some responsibility to try and get them in those spots to help us here. I thought that hurt us.”

And when guys like Rick Nash and Brad Richards turn up empty in the playoff run, then responsibility goes somewhere- usually behind the bench and not on the high-salaried players.

“It sucks,” Ryan Callahan said after Game 5. “There’s no worse feeling than this. We had a good team this year. It’s frustrating.”

And now, they'll do it with a new coach...
The HQ will miss his sound bites...
((HT: Hockey Webcast))

It was a long night for MLS teams in the current round of the US Open Cup...
But, the moment of survival came from the Chivas USA-LA Blues matchup...

It's been a long year for the Chivas franchise. Last in attendance, last in scoring, last in win-loss record, and last in pretty much everything in MLS- and there's even talk of an ownership change and a location change. But Dan Kennedy gave the Goats their moment of the current season...

He put a penalty kick home and it ended up being the winning margin to send them into Round 4...
((HT: Andrew Watson))

It was a successful evening for a lot of the USL Pro teams against their big brothers...
Orlando City SC knocked off Sporting KC 3-1. And the Charleston Battery beat San Jose 1-0 as Colin Falvey got the game winner in the 73rd minute- just after Quakes defender Brad Ring got his second yellow on the night...

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The group that wants to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, Renaissance Sports and Entertainment (otherwise known as the Gosbee/LeBlanc group), the National Hockey League, and the city of Glendale all met together to see if there is a future relationship among the three of them.

The hook in all of this is, probably, going to come down to how much RSE wants to run jobing.com arena since the two figures could be as much as ten million dollars apart- per year. The Arizona Republic has the figure close to $6-million where prospective owners want as much as $15-million.

But the city of Glendale has a fiscal year that starts July 1 and the National Hockey League wants to have a printed schedule out by mid-June. The league and Renaissance have agreed on a price, according to Bill Daly.

As of right now, current Rutgers Athletics Director Julie Hermann still has her job...

President Robert Barchi said: "Looking at Julie’s entire record of accomplishment, which is stellar, we remain confident that we have selected an individual who will work in the best interests of all of our student athletes, our athletics teams, and the university."

“If you look at my 25-year career in athletics, I believe the record shows I am a steadfast advocate for student athletes,” Hermann said in a statement. “I intend to take that passion and hard-earned experience into my leadership role as athletic director of Rutgers University.”

Hermann was accused of calling her volleyball players in Knoxville as whores, alcoholics, and learning disabled by her players.

Kelly Hanlon Dow was on the team Hermann coached in Knoxville and was interviewed by Anderson Cooper

For Hermann to "not remember" the letter composed by her players in Knoxville was a shock to them.

From Wolfe:"I never heard any of this, never name-calling them or anything like that whatsoever." The word "whore," she said, is "not part of my vernacular. Not then, not now, not ever."

When asked at her introductory press conference at Rutgers about disparaging remarks that led to a settlement by one of her assistants of $150,000 at Ginger Hineline's wedding, Hermann couldn't remember being at a wedding or there being a video tape where she said what she said... ((HT: nj.com))

11 players went on the record for Wolfe's report and it is required reading- even as Hermann doesn't seem to remember much of the time that she angered her players at UTK...

An assistant track and field coach, Mary Banker, said she went to Hermann to complain of what she said was sexist behavior and “discriminatory treatment” by the head track and field coach. Within three weeks of going to HR, Banker was fired.The Banker case went up the legal chain in the state of Kentucky, but was eventually turned aside in appeals court. Her lawyer's are looking for the state supreme court to look at the decision.

No, he's not Dr. Frank Jobe, orthopedist to all things sports the man who invented "Tommy John" surgery, but Dr. Lewis Yocum was his protege and learned at his side.

Yocum, the team doctor for the Los Angeles Angels passed away Tuesday. The Angels posted the following on their Twitter feed: The Angels family and MLB have lost one of baseball's finest gentlemen and truly outstanding professionals with the passing of Dr. Lewis Yocum.

The good doctor is well known
for performing the elbow based surgery on pitchers like Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals and for patching up Roy Halliday's elbow remnants. In fact the list of baseball players Yocum helped repair, rebuild or re-imagine is far lengthier than we could put in this column.

Yes, it's rare that a doctor is mentioned as someone noteworthy in Sports, but considering how many athletes Yocum helped get back to the top of their game, he's worthy of mention here.

Ending a few years, really, of speculation the NBA Board of Governors has approved the sale of the Sacramento Kings from the Maloof brothers to the Sacramento-based group led by Vivek Ranadive and other civic leaders.

Ranadive will now have to officially divest himself of his interest in the Golden State Warriors. The Maloof family paid $156 million in 1998 for the majority stake and Ranadive will pay around $200-million in cash. The Ranadive group will also assume the Kings' debts to the NBA and the city of Sacramento. That adds up to $347-million...

Forbes Magazine has valued the team at $535 million and they'll move into an 18,500-seat arena complex set to cost $448-million. Ranadive's group pays $190-million of that and the city will pay the rest.

Here was the Kings rally once everything was almost set in place...
((HT: news10.net))

The Grand Valley State University football team has sent 38 members- staff, players, and supporters- to a northern Michigan campground to aide in the search for former GVSU QB Cullen Finnerty.

Lake County (MI) Police say he called his wife and in-laws to come and pick him up and that he sounded scared over the weekend. When they got to the place where Finnerty was to meet them, they found his pontoon boat along with some fishing equipment- and that was all. County Sheriff Robert Hilts told the Ludington (MI) Daily News Finnerty had a "nervous episode" and ran into the woods.

"He went fishing last night and suffered some kind of a nervous episode and went running off into the woods," Hilts said.

Finnerty was the quarterback of the Grand Valley State Lakers, leading the team to three national championships in 2003, 2005, and 2006. He also had a cup of coffee with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL.

Here's the early story from Grand Rapids

An early Tuesday press conference by local officials gave info that the search has been narrowed to an area where Finnerty's cell phone had been tracked.

PM UPDATE: Finnerty's former football coach has told local media that the authorities have found Finnerty dead near the river where he was fishing.

Fox is saying that they will not use the overhead view until they figure out what went wrong and have profusely apologized...

Here's their statement after it happened:

Everyone at FOX Sports is relieved and thankful to know that the injuries to fans caused when CAMCAT malfunctioned at Charlotte Motor Speedway were minor, and those who received hospital treatment were released last night. As stated previously, we regret that the race was affected, and we apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged, to everyone at CMS, NASCAR, and NASCAR fans, especially those who were hurt. At this time, we still do not have a cause for what happened, but a full investigation is underway, and use of the camera is suspended indefinitely.

The rope is made of Dyneema, an ultra-strong synthetic that has the same approximate strength of a steel wire with the same diameter, and is less than a year old. According to the company, it had been factory-tested by the manufacturer and its breaking strength is certified before shipment. It was also inspected by CAMCAT upon receipt last June. The rope was certified to have a breaking strength of over 9,300 pounds. The force exerted during last night's race was less than 900 pounds.

FOX Sports is reviewing with CAMCAT equipment maintenance records, history and installation information and will share those findings with NASCAR and CMS.

It's the nPower Championship play-in game that would decide the third member of the league to be promoted to the Premier League between Crystal Palace and Watford.

And, while the game won't go down in history as one of the most exciting play-in games ever in the history of... ever...

Here's your winner...

Palace manager Ian Holloway told Sky Sports: "I am so proud of these [players]. I am so proud of the club. We are in the Premier League, so God help us." The Eagles return to the top flight after an 8-year hiatus.

Watford boss Gianfranco Zola said in return: "They had a player like Zaha, who was on a different level and made the difference."
It will be interesting to see how Palace responds to the loss of Zaha to Manchester United. And what the opening odds are to see the three promoted stay up...

Toronto Blue Jays SS Muneroi Kawasaki was the hero Sunday in Toronto's come from behind win over the Baltimore Orioles.His double was the difference in the 6-5 win.

That unto itself was dramatic and for Blue Jays fans, exciting. But what followed was a classic...

The post game TV interview begins with Mark DeRosa, the runner who scored the actual run, but the subject quickly turned to Kawasaki...who's interview began with him introducing himself, moved onto to prepared notes and ended with a pie to the face.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

It took 12 tries, but perhaps for new Indianapolis 500 champ Tony Kanaan, 12 is his lucky number.

The Brazilian racer cruised to a relatively easy win after taking the lead with 3-laps to go from Ryan Hunter-Reay. He locked it up when a Dario Frachetti crashed, making it a lock Kanaan would get the win.

Kanaan is an Indy Car veteran, who's got 16 wins and a Series title under his belt.

Maybe we just didn't hear the "heads up" because this was recorded off TV. Or it did not happen.

Either way, the video here is pretty funny.

Sophia Minnaert, sideline reporter for the regional Fox Sports Net that does Brewers games is caught by surprise Sunday afternoon when in the middle of a report, a ball goes flying in her direction and hits her...in the microphone, knocking it out of her hands.

Minnaert stands there stunned for a second before picking up and continuing her report.

After retiring thinking that his being an openly gay athlete would detract from his sport, team, and teammates Robbie Rogers has unretired.

The LA Galaxy have traded for his rights from the Chicago Fire.

Rogers didn't play in 2012 and has 11 goals scored during a 5-year run with the Columbus Crew. Admittedly, we aren't 100% sure how the Fire ended up with his rights.

Rogers also has time spent with the U.S National team and is considered one of the best players in the U.S. As for the gay athlete part, he's hoping that won't be a "label". Rather, he just wants to be known as a good soccer player.

Said Galaxy coach Bruce Arena: "We've been searching for the last year or two for a player that has the
skills to be a flank player, play wide and add a little speed to our
club, take on players and a good crosser off the ball with both of his
feet," Arena said. "He offers qualities that we've been looking for, so
we're hopeful that in time, Robbie will demonstrate the kind of
qualities that he has previously in this league."

Let's hope that's how Rogers is looked at rather than being a spectacle because he's gay.

It's good to be king.
But it's probably not so good to be Brian Kelly, a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish or now former starting QB Everett Golson.

That's because Golson is mysteriously "no longer enrolled" at the school.

The belief is that Golson is an academic casualty, but thus far the school, nor anyone else is confirming that "on the record". All the school would say is that he's "No longer enrolled".

Golson was pretty good this past year as a redshirt freshman, leading the Irish to the BCS title game, which they lost to Alabama.

Options are a bit slim for Irish coach Brian Kelly as prized recruit Gunner Keil bailed out on him over the summer leaving him with the questionable Tommy Rees and a couple other recruits to battle for the starting job on a team most pollsters will still over-rate whether they are any good or not.

((Updated 4:00 p.m 5/26--ESPN's Twitter feed states that according to Tom Rinaldi, Golson was suspended for academics and wants to come back))

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Home court advantage is now with the Indiana Pacers. Roy Hibbert had 29 points and Paul George had 22 as the Pacers took a lead early in Miami against the Heat and held on for the 97-93 win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"We haven't done anything yet," Hibbert said post-game. "We haven't closed the series out. We won one game. A lot of us feel we should be up 2-0."

And Hibbert is right. Save for him not in the game for the last 2.2 seconds, the series should have been all Indiana.
LeBron James had his opportunities in Game 1. It was the idea of the Pacers to take those away from him Game 2...

With Tomas Vokoun in goal, there has been a feeling that the Pittsburgh Penguins would make a point- to outscore everyone if they needed to for a win, to protect their back-up goaltender, and to tell their starting goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, that all you have to be is hot to make a run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs...

It takes effort from everyone every night, sometimes it's someone you don't expect- and that's what it takes in addition to those who are expected to do their jobs (aka the "stars...") to win a title...

And last night, it was James Neal...

Here's the highlights- most of them are Pittsburgh

it's the first time the Pens are in the Eastern Conference finals since 2009- the year they won a Cup title...

The HQ isn't really holding it's collective breath on this one, but we have heard this before, but there is word that a deal is in place for the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to Renaissance Sports and Entertainment- the Gosbee/LeBlanc group.

Sources also telling me that the NHL and Gosbee/LeBlanc (Renaissance Sports & Entertainment) have agreed to a deal for #Coyotes purchase.

Glendale councilmember Gary Sherwood: “Gary (Bettman) told us all along that if the league had three suitors for the team, they wouldn’t come to us until they had selected one that they felt was the best group. That is exactly has happened.”

While the sale may be approved by the NHL, any prospective buyer would still have to strike a deal with Glendale for the management of the city-owned arena. And that is the wild card in all of this...

If the Arizona Republic is saying one figure for operating the arena and prospective owners wanted twice that figure, and the city of Glendale will be trying to not give out any kind of subsidy for a new owner- then, there won't be a lot of wiggle room...

Here was Morgan when he was forced to chase down Darin Pastor- before he was turned down rather quickly...
((HT: FS Arizona))

Friday, May 24, 2013

And while the IndyLights race had a fantastic finish, the GP2 race in Monaco today didn't even really get started...

When the green light happened, 15 cars got involved in a melee in the first turn...

As a result, Johnny Cecotto, Junior has been suspended from the rest of the weekend activities...

Cecotto took out teammate Mitch Evans and title contender Fabio Leimer with him. Nine of those 15 involved couldn't make the restart...

Cecotto also got in trouble in Malaysia where he forced Sam Bird off the road in qualifying and got DQ'ed from the session - and in Spain, where he criss-crossed Sergio Canamasas trying to hold him off...

The folks over at Sportsnet, valued by those of us at HQ, have put together a 30-minute special on Canadian race car driver Greg Moore and his impact on the series- 14 years after his passing at Fontana...

Lap 10, Halloween, the race was the CART series finale for 1999...

Moore was an up and comer in the Indy Series and he meant so much to Canadians that current IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe grew up wanting to be like him...

They have put together a half-hour with interviews including Dario Franchitti, Greg's dad, his mechanic, and Hinch...
Required viewing for race fans and Part 3 has a special moment from this year's Indy qualifying...

Richard Curl coached swimmers who would, eventually, become active in US Swimming every four years chasing after medals and time on a medal stand...

Now, he is heading to jail for seven years in the 30-year-old abuse case of one of his pupils, Kelly Davies Currin. Davies Currin was 13 when the abuse started and Curl was in his 30's. The abuse apparently happened for years.

“I have no confidence whatsoever that USA Swimming will protect swimmers from sex abuse,” Currin said. “Its leaders have been given ample opportunity to prove to the country that they are able to put the interests of swimmers ahead of their own. They have failed and failed in the worst ways.”

Dallas Cowboy Josh Brent may be forced to stay in jail while he awaits his December trial for intoxication manslaughter.

A bond hearing is set for Friday where prosecutors will ask Brent’s bond to be revoked because the DA's office is saying Brent has repeatedly violated terms of his bond. According to prosecutors, the alcohol monitor Brent is wearing has shown signs of alcohol use on at least four different occasions. The state also claims Brent has failed to show up at bond supervision appointments.

Prosecutors will now argue because of the violations that Brent poses a threat to the community.

Brent is under indictment for the December 8, 2012 accident that killed Brent’s teammate, Jerry Brown.
Prosecutors say he was drunk at the time.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Players like Russell Westbrook and Hasheem Thabeet along with GM Sam Presti made their tour of the devastation in Moore. Since they couldn't get into the areas immediately after the tornadoes, they went to cheer up who they could in hospital.

Hockey legend spends the last 8 of his 18-years as one of the greatest goaltenders that ever lived high in the mountains of Colorado.

Retires after his team loses in the 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs and enjoys it for 3-years.

In 2005, he becomes the owner, vice-president and general manager of the Quebec Ramparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey Legaue.

In 2007, he gets in trouble for throwing punches in the direction of an opponent, faces assault charges and gets rid of them by apologizing, but only afterwards to accuse the media of conspiring against him.

In 2008, his son gets in trouble for cross-checking an opponent after a play had been whistled dead. The son was suspended for 15-games.

And in 2013, May 23rd to be exact, you are Patrick Roy, new head coach and Vice President of Hockey Operations.

We've said it before: We respect the heck out of athletes willing to give back.

That's why we can never say enough good things about Oklahoma City Thunder Forward and star Kevin Durant.

On the heels of his $1 million dollar donation to the American Red Cross (one matched by his team and the NBAPA), he went out to Moore, Oklahoma to see firsthand what happened and to help distribute supplies to those who need them.

Here's some video from the Red Cross their ownselves:

If you want to help the Red Cross help Tornado Victims, the best way to do it is donate. To donate, text REDCROSS to 90999 and make a $10 donation. Every little bit helps.

The rumour that Quebecor is currently in negotiations with the #NHL to buy a franchise is completely false.

The statement doesn't say they haven't- just that they aren't at this very minute... even as Rejean Tremblay of QMI told 98.5 Sports in Montreal:

"A team is in place to clear the ground, lawyers, accountants to audit the affairs of the Coyotes," said columnist Réjean Tremblay on 98.5 fm with Paul Arcand on Wednesday.

One would lend itself to think that the National Hockey League is trying to figure out if the folks who are currently "negotiating" with the NHL for the Coyotes- the Anthony LeBlanc group- are serious... or just more serious than the Darin Pastor group that got stiff-armed by Bill Daly and everyone else associated with the NHL.

LeBlanc’s group – Renaissance Sports and Entertainment – has raised $240 million, or $70 million more than the NHL’s asking price. It is committed to absorbing $40 million in losses over the first four years, with an out clause if the economics don’t improve.

The group would immediately re-sign Don Maloney and Dave Tippett, arguably the best general manager/coach tandem in the NHL.

But the lease for Jobing.com Arena may be the killer for anyone who wants in on the Coyotes. The Arizona Republic claims that operating costs are around $6-million where LeBlanc is looking to get something in the neighborhood of $15-million. If LeBlanc is out, then would it be the return of Matthew Hulsizer or would Quebecor finally get their chance to make an easy move to Quebec City...???

CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau would love to match Bell and Rogers to get a chance to play with a big boy toy like an NHL franchise. There's only so much work that can be done in and around the Montreal Impact...

Reg Sherren did a piece for CBC's "The National" exploring how the return of the Jets could help the return of Les Nordiques...

"If ... if ... if ... if ... a franchise was available, there would be three factors to consider. One, the owner. Two, the arena. And three, the market. That is how we must analyze the demands and make a decision."